Tottenham 3-1 Leicester: The positives from a nothing game for Foxes

With the rest to key players, the main “starting” centre-backs for City received much needed recovery time. Perhaps inevitably, the quality of defending corners reverted back to the seasons average, as Daniel Amartey allowed a simple manipulation of space from Harry Kane—and consequential finish—to open the scoring. Without instructive players such as Jonny Evans, nor athletic (and incredibly determined ball winners) individuals such as Wesley Fofana, the Foxes looked fragile. This isn’t groundbreaking, but does outline the requirement of a leader-type CB to be added into the squad when Evans isn’t available.

As the game shifted into Tottenham Hotspur’s favour, it was very pleasing to see Rodgers turn to Lewis Brunt on the bench, as a replacement for Boubakary Soumaré. The 21-year-old looked assured in the centre of the pitch, with a few clever pass selections—bypassing the closest lane and utilising a longer option. It sounds simplistic, but it’s effective at beating the press and also takes confidence to execute. I don’t think he outperformed the Frenchman, who I thought impressed in a rare cameo, but seeing an academy graduate get minutes is always pleasing.

These are my positives, from a “nothing” game – from the King Power team’s perspective – which offered very little. Brendan Rodgers got to experiment with his selection, attempted an intriguing formation—the 5-2-1-2—all with little risk. It does place a lot of emphasis on Thursday, albeit that was always going to be the case, but thankfully the squad is revitalised and ready to battle at the Stadio Olimpico.